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E-mail marketing is still a valuable tool for reaching customers, but an effective campaign requires a high-quality list, Monika Jansen writes. Look for contacts on services such as LinkedIn and send a message telling them about your content, she advises. You can add people who give you their business cards to your contact list, but you should never buy an e-mail list, she writes. "[T]he people on the list have not opted in to receive your messages, and you could be viewed as an annoyance, or worse, a spammer, thus sullying your brand's reputation."

Before sending a marketing e-mail, make sure you have selected the right group of recipients, provided a way to unsubscribe and correctly set up the personalization, writes Monika Jansen. Also, include your company's contact information in the message and make sure there's a text version so everyone will be able to read it. "Despite all the incredible advances in browser and mobile technology, some programs and devices just cannot handle HTML versions of emails," Jansen writes.

Work to form a relationship with new contacts -- don't take their card and then sign them up right up for your mailing list, Rachel Blaufeld writes. She recommends sending personal messages to follow up with new contacts and to post comments occasionally on their online activities. If they still haven't signed up for your newsletter, try sending a personalized e-mail that includes a sample, she writes.

You should only be sending customers e-mails that are relevant to them, which can require segmenting your e-mail list, writes Tyler Garns. He recommends tracking by lead source, demographics and, most important, behavior to make sure customers are hearing your message.

E-mail can be a great way to get your marketing message across to a targeted audience rather than the unfocused millions on social media, writes Maisha Walker. "When someone joins your e-mail list, they usually mean it," she writes, noting that it doesn't take much to get an e-mail marketing campaign started and that it can get you in the habit of sharing your story.